The government plans to designate certain university research institutions as ‘core research support centers’ where it will collect and manage all research equipment. (image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, May 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Research equipment dispersed throughout research labs will be now be moved to a single location to allow easy access to multiple colleges.
The Ministry of Education (MOE), Korea Research Foundation, and Korea Basic Science Institute announced plans on Wednesday to collect all low-usage equipment dispersed throughout colleges and place them at designated ‘core research support centers’ where staff will be responsible for managing the devices.
Previously, research equipment was placed in various research labs, which made it difficult to share with other colleges or professors.
There was also a problem of abandoning equipment after the completion of each project.
The MOE reported that as much as 24 percent of all research equipment had either been abandoned or was used only on rare occasions, while 36 percent was not being shared with other universities.
To resolve the issue, the government plans to designate certain university research institutions as ‘core research support centers’ where it will collect and manage all research equipment.
The project was already tested at Kyungpook National University, Sungkyunkwan University, and Chonnam National University last year.
The project, ready for official release this year, has drawn 52 applications from various research centers, 20 of which have been designated as core research support centers.
The Korea University Center for ProteoGenome Research, Kyunghee University Optoelectronics and Nano Device Laboratory, and Dankook University’s Core Research Support Center for Biomedical Engineering were among the 20 selectees that will receive 300-600 million won (US$252,000-$504,000) in funding each year for the next three to six years.
“The role of technicians, also known as ‘the behind-the-scene scientists,’ was proven to be critical in the project,” said Yun So-young, head of academic promotion at the MOE.
“We also plan to offer programs to raise and educate technicians.”
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
